Illustrated Encyclopedia of Audio Terrorism / Left Of The Dial

In the early 90s, Minneapolis, MN based Hammerhead recorded a string of EPs and albums for an independent label Amphetamine Reptile. Unfortunately, after loosing their guitarist Paul Sanders, they were unable to find a proper replacement for him and after releasing few albums with various session musicians, they decided to go on as a duo and changed their name to Vaz.Eventually, they also added a couple of other members to the line-up.

While their music doesn’t sound much like Hammerhead, they certainly carry the same spirit – both members dressed up as couple of Roman soldiers for a cover of “Dying To Meet You Album” and a couple of their tracks share names with songs made more popular by others (No Leaf Clover, No Woman, No Cry) but they are original songs, not covers.

Both members are also playing in GasWar project, along with former Cows member Kevin Rutmanis, although its unclear whether the band actually produced any material or whether it was a short-lived side project.

Vaz are also known for switching labels quite often – 2005 “The Lie That Matches The Furniture” came out on Narnack Records, while their previous albums – 2003 “Dying To Meet You” and 2001 “Demonstrations In Micronesia” came out on Gold Standard Laboratories and Load Records, respectively. They also produced a number of split singles with fellow bands, such as Seawhores, Sicbay and Enemymine (the latter of which includes Mike Kunka, former member of Godheadsilo).